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Entertainment

Movies and the mall aren’t the only entertainment in Gaston County. There’s live music, comedy, local and natural history along with a botanical showcase and summer collegiate league baseball.

Belmont is home to both the Comedy Zone and Scrugg’s Opry House. The opry is a venue for gospel, bluegrass and Southern music. Bands from across the region perform one weekend a month. Anthony and Kathy Scruggs, a local couple, opened the opry in April and are packing in the crowds. The atmosphere is family friendly, a place to take the grandparents and the kids.

Down the street the action starts a bit later in the evening at the Comedy Zone. Comics from across the country are entertaining the crowds. Heffron Talent, a national agency, handles the bookings. The club, also home to Starz Tavern, opened last year. Locals say they appreciate not having to make the drive to Charlotte for a night on the town.

Looking for a more cerebral good time? The Gaston County Museum in Dallas tells the county’s history. There’s the textile exhibit The Ties That Bind, the Daniel Stowe carriage house and the Greek Revival style 1852 Hoffman Hotel to wander through. Other exhibits change regularly. There are also concerts, art shows and plenty of events for kids.

Want to go even further back in time? The Schiele Museum, a city of Gastonia-owned facility, can send you back to the Stone Age. The outdoor village features standing stones, stone circles, an earthen burial mound, rock cairn and petroglyphs. A Catawba Indian Village moves the timeline forward with a bark-covered house, council house and log cabins. The Backcountry Village shows how early European settlers lived when Gaston was considered the Western frontier. Docents in period costume demonstrate farming, cooking and tool making. Heritage breeds of poultry and hogs give the exhibit an added dose of authenticity.

Come inside to learn more. Permanent exhibits feature the wildlife habitats of North America, bones back to the time of the dinosaurs and extensive artifacts from the Native American tribes, which once lived across this continent. There’s also a planetarium and gift shop.

Looking for a twist on the typical museum? Head to Carolina Harley-Davidson on East Franklin Boulevard. The dealership, the largest on the east coast, has vintage motorcycles on display including a 1914 Model 10-B, the Silent Gray Fellow.

One of the country’s “20 Great Gardens,” according to HGTV, is located in Gaston County. The 450-acre Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden offers its visitors nine themed gardens - the Four Seasons, tropically-themed Canal Garden, four Perennial Gardens, a Cottage Garden, Conifer Garden and the stately West Gardens. There are also 12 fountains and a woodland trail. Guests can stroll at their leisure or take a guided tour. A fivestory, 8,000 square foot orchid conservatory is under construction. The garden was the brainchild of retired textile executive Daniel J. Stowe.

If the music, comedy, garden and museums have made you tired, relax and enjoy the all-American pastime - baseball. Gastonia is home to the Grizzlies, a Coastal Plains League collegiate summer team, which plays at Sims Park.